War on Poverty continues to rage across Alabama (Opinion from Community Action Association)

President Lyndon Johnson and his wife Lady Bird visit Appalachia as Johnson declared the War on Poverty.

By Ron Gilbert

We have spent the last year memorializing the events
of 1963 which led to the enactment of the major civil rights legislation of
that decade. The events that played out
in cities like Birmingham and Selma, and other countless communities across our
country, were among the first that were brought into the living rooms of
America through television. And that
exposure brought a growing awareness that led to the public outcry demanding basic
rights for all of our citizens.

But television brought into focus another aspect of
American life – that many of our neighbors lived in abject poverty and despair
in the world's wealthiest country. And
those news reports – that showed the depth of that despair all across the U.S.
– led to President Johnson's call for a War on Poverty during his State of the
Nation address on January 8, 1964.
Congress would respond to that call by passing legislation that
continues to this day to provide the safety net for Americans. In the late summer of 1964, the Economic
Opportunity Act was passed with bipartisan support. This legislation created the Office of
Economic Opportunity to administer the local application of federal funds
targeted against poverty. Among the
programs created by this landmark legislation was the Community Action Program,
Head Start program, Job Corps, Work Study programs, and Volunteers in Service
to America (VISTA). In the days and
weeks following enactment of the EOA, Congress would create the Food Stamp
Program and in 1965, would establish the Medicare program.

There are those who say that this war has been lost –
that the country has invested billions of dollars over the last 50 years and
yet poverty continues. But those who make that argument tend to ignore the
reality: A recent Columbia University
study found that the poverty rate fell from 26% in 1967 to 16% in 2012 when the
safety net is taken into account. And
for many ravaged by the recent recession, programs such as these were all that
kept them afloat – and what would they have done if these programs were not
there to help? The War on Poverty hasn't
failed; our economy has failed. Instead of focusing their attention on
rebuilding an economy that works for everyone, too many policymakers are still
focused on reckless cuts to safety net programs that are working overtime to
make up for an economy that isn't meeting most Americans' basic needs. It's time to reset the whole debate and
recommit to cutting poverty.

Our country has changed since that time and our
policies haven't caught up: Since the 1960s we've seen rising income
inequality, an economy that requires higher levels of education to enter the
middle-class, changing family structures and an increasingly important role for
women and communities of color in the labor force.We need to adapt to these changes. Instead of reckless cuts
to programs that support Americans who are struggling, we need to focus our attention
back on rebuilding an economy that works for everyone, including investments in
job creation, education, and policies that provide a hand up to struggling
families.

We have strong traditions in our country – individuality, personal
responsibility but also compassion – we hold the victims of battles close to
our hearts, and we honor those who fought those battles of war. And make no mistake about it – the battle for
economic security is a war. Ask the
worker who lost their job to 'right sizing' and their home to foreclosure in
the Great Recession. Ask the single
parent struggling to provide for children on a minimum wage job. And ask the veterans who fight those battles –
workers in community action agencies across our state, the staff of other nonprofits,
faith groups and government employees who work each day to help families keep
their heads above water. They are the
ones who see tragedies, disappointments and heartache each day, and yet work
diligently to improve the lives of those who appear at their door, and in doing
so help to strengthen our communities.

Throughout this year there will be much discussion
about these programs – whether they have achieved their mission, whether they
have been efficient, whether there are better ways to address poverty. So, as we analyze and dissect these programs
on their 50th anniversary, let's remember the victims and the veterans of that
war and let's commit to improving and expanding opportunities for our neighbors
in need.

(Ron Gilbert (rgilbert@caaalabama.org) is the
Executive Director of the Community Action Association of Alabama, a network of
local, non-profit organizations that have worked for almost 50 years to address
issues of poverty in their communities and to provide low- and moderate-income
Alabamians and their families opportunities for economic stability.)

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